Rjorn’s Drum

Drum of the Dead

While staying at the Bards College, locate the Dean of History, Giraud Gemane, who has some exciting news regarding a lost instrument. It appears adventurers working on behalf of the College have vague information regarding the venerable Rjorn’s Drum. No one knows the location of Rjorn’s final resting place, and therefore where his drum is, but word is that Rjorn entered a place called Halldir’s Cairn and likely died there. Rjorn was the most famous drummer of the Second Age, and Giraud tasks you with finding his drum.

Journey to Halldir’s Cairn, just off the beaten track close to Falkreath. Head inside this strange cavern. An odd blue light pierces through a roof grating, illuminating a pile of stones and a group of scattered corpses, some much older than others. Close by is a pedestal with a key and a journal to take. The journal details a strange malaise that overtook a group of adventurers. The story doesn’t end happily. Unlock the door (Adept), using either Lockpick or the key.

• Agrius’ Journal
• Key to Halldir’s Crypt

Open the door, head up the spiral stairs to a rocky tunnel and slope up to a wooden door to the west. This is guarded by ghosts. Repel them with your chosen weapons, open the door to the west, and head through a small crypt while the ghosts taunt your mind. Head up the steps to a throne, where a Draugr draped over the seat twitches to life. Prepare for a battle with several ghosts and Draugr at this point. Then take the Spell Tome from the pedestal if you wish before checking behind the throne. Activate the lever there, which opens the adjacent portcullis, allowing you through.

• Spell Tome: Raise Zombie

Head up the few steps and into an upper crypt with a seemingly dead end. After you remove the Draugr and ghosts that stalk you, inspect the area. There’s a locked Iron Door (Apprentice) that doesn’t lead anywhere. However, there are some Nordic petroglyphs to study.

Puzzle Solution: The first room has a lever, which initially just causes darts to fire from the nearby statue. Each of the next three chambers has a Nordic Puzzle Pillar; rotate the pillar so that its glyph matches the glyphs on the stone heads in the wall of that room. Then return to the lever and pull it to open a path forward.

This leads to a tiny grotto, a second passage to another crypt area (with a side passage and a dangerous battering ram trap), and steps up and around to the final resting place of Halldir. His undead form is ready with powerful magic and multiple doppelgangers to fight and thwart you. Watch for his clones and electrical attacks, and prepare for a lengthy battle until he uses up his magic and you can consistently slay him. Then inspect his treasure chest, which contains the instrument you’re after. Leave by opening the circular trapdoor, landing on the jutting floorboards and then on the stones and corpses you first spotted when you entered this place.

• Rjorn’s Drum

Quest Conclusion

Return Rjorn’s Drum to Giraud Gemane back at the Bards College. He is excited to see the drum he’s been searching for over the last 20 years. Although the College treasury can’t pay you, Giraud can show you some tricks he learned from his days with the army. He ups all your Combat (Martial) skills by a point:

• Smithing (+1)
• Heavy Armor (+1)
• Block (+1)
• Two-Handed (+1)
• One-Handed (+1)
• Archery (+1)